


Let's Have a Kai Kai

by Daryl_Grimes (Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson)



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Drag Queens, Alternate Universe - RuPaul's Drag Race Fusion, Drag Queen Daryl Dixon, Drag Queen Rick Grimes, M/M, RuPaul's Drag Race - Freeform, RuPaul's Drag Race AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 14:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5251652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson/pseuds/Daryl_Grimes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick Grimes can hardly believe his luck when he steps into the dressing room in California, eyes wide at the sight of drag queens everywhere.</p><p>He's lucky - he managed to get the time of work to appear on the show, the support of his wife and eldest child... maybe not the support of his best friend.</p><p>But there's a mysterious queen that lurks in the shadows, and Rick thinks that they might need a friend.</p><p>But is Rick able to keep the relationship to just friends?</p><p> </p><p>  <em>Note: Rick and Daryl are not trans*. They're just drag queens.</em><br/><em>Title from <strong>Kai Kai</strong> by Sharon Needles.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hannibal_X_Will](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hannibal_X_Will/gifts).



Rick licked his crimson lips, breathing heavily as he stood outside the door. The moment he walked in, he could be faced with anywhere between zero and thirteen drag queens, judging his makeup, his body, his clothes.

Shaking his head, he cleared his throat, turning his nervous scowl into a charming smile.

_Get over yourself, Antonia. You signed up for this competition. You got accepted into this competition and you are going to **win** this competition._

Making sure his smile was permanently in place, Rick walked slightly down the hallway, finding comfort in the familiar clicking noise of his heels on marble... only to stop and stare at the amazing women in front of him.

_Maybe you’re not going to win after all... these bitches are gorgeous!_

Every pair of eyes was on him, and Rick found that he forgot how to swallow.

“Ladies.” A soft curtsey to the woman as his hand found the curve of his hip, underneath his short black dress, skin-tight, figure-hugging and sexy as hell. “Antonia Royale, at your service.”

“Ohhhh gurl. Someone smell some fish in here?”

A young woman came sashaying up to him, leaning in for a soft hug. Her makeup was so on point, boobs just right, Rick had to glance twice to make sure it wasn’t an actual woman walking towards him.

“Raven, at _your_ service.”

Rick gave a soft smile to her, nodding his head, moving his eyes around the group.

“Jinxx.” “Ivy.” “Shangela.”

Those were the only three names that Rick remembered, but he did notice, one Queen didn’t even turn around to look at him.

And that Queen, happened to be sitting on the end, next to the only empty chair.

_Guess you’re gonna have to try and make friends with her, Antonia._

“Antonia Royale, at your service, ma’am.”

Rick flashed a smile as he perched on the chair, setting his bag down on the counter. She still didn’t look over.

“Come on now, ma’am, don’t you wanna make friends?”

“Friends ain’t something I try to keep, Miss. Royale.”

The Queen turned to him, and Rick forgot how to breathe for a moment.

Deep blue eyes stared into his, so deep, Rick swore they were staring straight into his soul. Soft lips, pale – and not because of lipstick – lined with a slightly darker pink were etched into a frown. Eyes were silhouetted with thick black eyeliner, topped with a perfect flick. A soft brown eye shadow decorated her eye lids.

Rick swallowed and offered a hand.

“Who might you be; an angel?”

“Darlina Rose.”

The northern accent was thick, very country, and Rick smiled softly.

“Where you from?”

“North Georgia. Yourself?”

“Cynthiana, Kentucky.”

Darlina nodded and licked her lips, glancing back at the mirror.

Rick could have sworn he saw insecurity flare in her eyes before her attention flickered to her lap, her long, red nails being picked at.

“Hey now. You alright, my dear?”

“Don’t call me that. Mah name is Darlina, use it.”

Rick frowned, blinking a moment before he glanced around at the alarm. Of course, he’d seen the show enough on television to know what that sound meant. With another glance at Darlina, he got off his seat and walked across the room to lean on the table, leaning next to Ivy.

The following message left all the girls in confusion, glancing around at each other before Rick glanced the Pit Crew walking through.

Wolf whistles erupted through the group and Rick found himself smiling at Daryl’s smirk.

“Antonia Royale.”

A fierce blush took over Rick’s face as he stalked through, head held high, proud, to the room for the photoshoot.

xox

“Ms Royale.”

“Ms. RuPaul.”

Rick gladly held a hand out to shake the extended one.

“This is Mike Ruiz, celebrity photographer.”

Rick smiled and nodded at him, shaking the hand extended.

“For this challenge, I want you to get mermaid realness.”

Rick glanced behind him at the large tank in the room, and swallowed before nodding.

“Mermaid realness? I can do that, for sure.”

He immediately headed over to the stairs on the side of the tank and climbed, the dull _thunk_ of his heels on the dense metal causing dread in his heart. Taking a breath, and not letting his mind over think anything, he threw himself into the water.

xox

Paralysed by the cold for a moment, Rick blinked, before he shook his head, swimming down.

Holding his legs together, his left hand moved to rest behind his head, his other one stretching out. He heard the camera click and moved straight away, hands stretched out over his head, before he moved as though he was laying on his stomach, legs stretched out behind him, arms in front of him as though he had just started swimming for the surface.

Lungs burning, Rick had to force himself not to desperately kick himself to the surface. Grabbing tight hold of the bars above the water, he forced air into his lungs, taking a moment to breathe slowly before he made for the side.

“You best catch this one, Mike, I’m not diving more than once in these stilettos, hunny.”

Laughed floated up to him and Rick smiled, standing up before doing a perfect dive into the water. He did the poses being yelled at him through the glass before pushing himself upwards, lungs burning once more.

“I think we have everything we need, Antonia, thank you!”

With a smile, Rick hauled himself out of the water, trying not to limp back to the dressing room.

xox

“So why do you have so many muscles if you’re a drag queen?”

Rick smiled softly at Ivy as he pulled a plain black shirt on, covering his abs and biceps.

“I’m a cop. I need them.”

Rick had to smile as the man’s eyes widened, already changed into some pajamas and curled up on the couch in the corner.

“You’re a cop?”

Rick winked before glancing around, eyebrow raising as Darlina came in, soaking wet and not looking very happy. He licked his lips for a moment before he got up, offering a warm towel to the queen.

“Here.”

Darlina blinked, a fake eyelash falling off as she did before she took the towel gently.

“Thanks, Antonia.”

“Call me Rick, out of drag.”

Darlina looked shocked for a moment before he headed off to a changing cubicle, grabbing a bag on his way out.

“Name’s Daryl. Use it.”


	2. Chapter 2

Rick dried his face off, glancing at himself in the mirror. With a grimace, he gently peeled the last fake eyelash off, yelping slightly when he accidentally tugged a few eyelashes of his own out. He dropped it in the bin, leaning on the bathroom side before grimacing.

He wouldn’t untuck until he was in the shower – duct tape hurt like a bugger. He turned around, turning the shower on, only to glance at the door to his bedroom for a while. Someone was knocking on the door and Rick felt his eyes roll up into his head.

Quickly tugging some boxers on and a robe, he headed out, tugging the door open.

“Daryl?”

He was still in drag, and had his head down, but Rick stood aside, nodding. “Course. Is uh, something the matter?”

The Queen walked straight inside, collapsing on the bed. Rick heard the tell tale sound of a sniffle and he walked straight over, frowning at the tears dripping down his face. His thumb moved up to gently wipe a mascara mark away and pointed to the bathroom.

“Go clean up; shower’s warm. Ignore my mess, I’ll nip in and clear it up in a second. Bin under the sink, make up remover wipes are on the side, for sensitive skin – and I think I have some spare pajamas you can borrow.”

Daryl gave the man a grateful smile before he stood up, disappearing into the bathroom. The lock clicked and Rick glanced at it before he stood up to walk across to his drawers. He hadn’t yet finished unpacking, and he wasn’t really sure if it was a good idea. He could be going home within a week.

 _Stop thinking like that and unpack your damn stuff_.

He could hear Lori’s voice in his head and he chuckled, making sure to get his shirts and boxers in his drawers before he sat down, grimacing.

The duct tape was giving him a rash and... well this was going to hurt.

In one swift movement, the duct taped ripped off his skin, and Rick only just managed to stop himself from screaming. Last time he was using _that_ without shaving first.

Eyes watering, he stood, making sure to apply aloe vera cream before he slipped his boxers back on, tugging some pajama shorts on for now. He glanced at the bathroom door before deciding to tug his old shirt from the police academy on for safe measures. He didn’t know how Daryl would react to seeing him shirtless.

A ripping noise from the bathroom, followed by a shriek from Daryl had Rick chuckling and he moved to knock on the door. Seconds later, the lock clicked and Rick walked in, making sure to keep his back to the shower curtain. He slipped the cream round the curtain, placing it on the side of the bath.

“Helps a bunch.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Kneeling down, Rick quickly grabbed his clothes from the floor, making sure to grab his heels before moving back into the bedroom to kick the door shut.

Putting the heels back with some shoes to take to the dressing room tomorrow, Rick collapsed on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

xox

Daryl opened the door to the bathroom, and Rick shot upright, having forgotten about the man in his room.

“Hey, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare ya.”

Rick shrugged and stood up so Daryl could sit down, chucking some spare boxers and a shirt on the bed.

“Wanna talk about what’s wrong?”

He walked to the window, staring out so Daryl could change.

“It’s complicated.”

“Then explain it.”

Rick glanced back at Daryl, watching him towel dry his hair. The Northerner sighed, sitting back on the bed as he chucked the towel into the bathroom, making sure it landed next to the sink.

“You know how they announced all of us coming in to the Drag Race like, two months ago, before filming started?”

Rick nodded, leaning on the wall. He still remembered Carl screaming in the living room, running in, only to stare at his picture on the television set, RuPaul stood next to it, explaining how he was the sixth Queen chosen for the new season.

“Well, my family didn’t know I do this. I had to leave the state just to do shows – thank fuck I have mah bike I mean, only reason I could do it. Just so happened mah Father was watching RuPaul so he could slag off the contestants. Then I came up and he knew it was me just because of mah name and he stared at me and... I got up, packed and left. Moved in with mah ex.” Daryl licked his lips. “Mah Dad Skyped me earlier. Told me I’d been disowned and he wants nothing to do with me, even if it’s life or death. Just... took a toll on me.”

“I’m so sorry...”

“It’s fine. I was... kinda expecting this when he found out anyway. Just hope mah brother can come to terms wi’ it. I’d hate to lose ‘im too.”

“You close with your brother?”

“Ever since mah Mama died.”

Rick hung his head in silence.

“Hey, ya don’t have to be like that around me. I’m fine.”

Rick gave a weak smile. “Don’t mind if I take a shower in my own room do you?”

Daryl laughed and shook his head, offering a cheesy smile.

Rick grinned back, disappearing into the bathroom.

xox

Daryl had stayed for food and Rick chuckled around his slice of pizza. The late night movies were always great, and _Zombieland_ had always been one of his favourites.

The sound of the other laughing had Rick smiling again and he glanced over during the break. “You know, this is the first movie I ever took my son to the cinema to see?”

“You’ve a son?”

“Yea. He found out before me that I was on the show.” He chuckled. “Was screaming like a banshee. Went running in to see if he as okay and saw my own face on the television set. Was surreal.”

Daryl nodded. “Sounds awesome. Yer actually a police officer or?”

“Mhm. Sherriff in my hometown.”

Daryl nodded again, looking away.

“Drag is more of a hobby for me. I’m surprised I got on the show. My work colleagues; Glenn, Shane... they sent in an audition tape of me as a joke but hey.”

Daryl smiled a little, glancing over with a chuckle.

“Yer married?”

Rick glanced at the wedding ring on his finger and nodded.

“What’s ‘e like?”

“Um. I have a wife.” Rick grinned, slightly awkwardly before he leant back. “Lori’s great. Real supportive. Been doing drag since before I met her so.”

Daryl nodded and stared at the remnants of the pizza in the box. “Must be nice.”

Rick frowned and moved forward. “Hey. How about we get some sleep? We got an early morning.”

Daryl nodded and Rick moved to turn the television off and chuck the pizza box into the bin. He turned the lights off and moved back to the bed. Daryl had slid under the covers and Rick gladly got in next to him, holding the other tightly to him, hoping to give him comfort.

**Author's Note:**

> _Antonia Royale is the drag name (female name) for Rick, where Darlina Rose is the drag name for Daryl._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _If a drag queen refers to some as 'fish' or 'fishy', it means they're drag is really good. If they refer to them as 'trout' it means, that's a bad drag day, hunny._


End file.
